Friday, October 30, 2009

Never make the assumption that lack of posts on a blog (especially my blog) means that there is nothing going on worth posting about. More often than not it means the exact opposite.

The day after my last post, I was on the main page of Scoutie Girl and Polymer Clay Daily! My Etsy shop was busy, my in box was busy and my blog got more comments that normal (all this while I was away in Washington D.C.). Not only did I sell the large necklace that was posted on Polymer Clay Daily, the customer also ordered a matching bracelet. Then I got another custom order and was also hired to make the jewelry for all the bridesmaids in a wedding. I pondered how to relate exposure to sales. I pondered if I will ever make anything as good as what I see in my head. I pondered and I worked. I worked and I pondered.

A very big thanks to Tara at Scoutie Girl! She also manages Handmade in PA where we first "met". She chose my earrings for a gift guide one day and had them on the main page the next and I made several sales thanks directly to those post. Do not underestimate the power of a well followed blog.

My spot on Polymer Clay Daily is frankly a big deal to me (pardon, I am going to gush) . This is the place where I go everyday to see whats happening in the world of polymer so to BE there, in the company of all those amazing artists...well...that's something! Thank You Cynthia Tinapple! What a great encouragement your posts have been to me! I can almost hear your voice while I work, "keeping going, keep going...".

Friday, October 9, 2009

I haven't been in the studio much these past two weeks. The rest of the things that I am responsible for in life seem quite pressing (homeschooling, peeling apples, buying new pants for boys who seem to grow over night). Then there have been days when its just so lovely...that I go here instead.

I think thats ok though. Seeds of inspiration often get planted on days such as the one pictured above.

I did start making lots and lots translucent "shell" beads, as my friend Natalie calls them.

They made an appearance in this necklace that took me months to complete. ("Why?" I ask myself because it isn't really a complicated piece in any way.)

Mentally for me though it was a departure in that being trained as a metal smith I often still design/think in metal. Then I translate to polymer, modify and moved on. This is the first piece that, in my head at least, I felt like I thought through the process in the new language (polymer). I designed it to lay asymmetrically against the neck by stringing, trying on, stringing, trying on. I'd like to be able to get a little more control over that process.

Monday, October 5, 2009

When I signed up for Etsy in February of 2008 I did not expect to "find" a dear friend from college, Lynn of UnaOdd, but I did. (Check out her 6 Friends Cube.) Nor did I expect to find new friends. Again, I was wrong. I have "met" quite a few really nice folks, artists with whom I can talk shop and from whom I can LEARN (always learning, always learning).

Since I started selling a selection of "supplies" I sometimes also have the great honor of part of my work becoming a small part of another artist's work. Its humbling, really. I was honestly surprised when Michele, from Michele's Art Jewelry, purchased my Orange beads a couple weeks ago. Within a week or so she had incorporated them into her own earthy necklace titled Total Meltdown which is now listed in her Etsy shop. I like that she chose a decidedly asymmetrical focal point for this piece.

I'm a fan of chunky bracelets - check out her Mardi Gras Bracelet. Those big beads are great, aren't they?!

Friday, October 2, 2009

I know it actually, officially already started but today it really felt like it. As the sun set a wind started to blow, wind that was decidedly cooler. As if to try and fool me, the zinnias still look great, some blooms are 5 feet tall!

But I've been watching the squirrels crazily stashing nuts and thought I should follow suit. I made End of the Garden Vegetable soup. One pot won't last us through winter though. I still have much to learn from the squirrels, I guess.

Apart from the stark, otherworldly beauty of a heavy snow, I don't like winter. I don't like shorter days, I don't like cold temperatures.

Strangely though I do enjoy this, right now. The get cozy/take stock/prepare for what lies ahead/nesting kind of thing that naturally happens in the fall.